Fat-free Vs Low-fat Vs Regular foods

By SusanC HERWriter Guide February 17, 2008 - 1:51pm

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I can't stand 'diet' foods. The thought of fat-free cheese is just, well, wrong. I don't eat margarine or any of those low fat spreads because believe me, I CAN believe it's not butter!

I also don't like diet yogurts, or pretty much anything dairy that has had the fat content removed or taken out. My only exception is milk - I can only handle skim milk.

I kind of fancy myself a cheese buff, and to change it to be lower in fat, or fat free (*shudder*) just boggles my mind.

Real butter is actually better for you than margarine since the natural components of butter are easier for your body to break down.

Diet soda, diet chips and diet cookies...not for me.

I'd rather eat a little of all of the above than a lot of the low fat or no fat counterparts. A real cookie now and again and real cheese (I eat cheese daily)when eaten in moderation, is fine. I think it's all about controlling how much we eat, and how often.

And somebody offered me fat-free ice-cream once. How is that stuff legal?!

Any thoughts?

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alysiak

Well, there's fat, then there's fat. I think people forget that a little bit of fat is actually good for you: good for the skin, hair and organ function. Plus, a little fat gives flavor to foods. There is good fat in whole foods, and that's what people need to be educated about.

Another thing I've noticed about "diet" or low-fat foods is that they tend to be high in sodium, very likely to compensate for lack of flavor from having limited fat content.

If there was just a way to make eating healthful, whole foods convenient and affordable (ever notice the good stuff costs more?), perhaps we wouldn't have so many fad "diets" and "diet foods" filling the center shelves at the grocers.

I'm with you about real butter. We got fooled into believing margarine was better, without realizing it's saturated fat!

Dr. Andrew Weil wrote a terrific article on margarine vs. butter: http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/margbutt.htm

February 18, 2008 - 7:14pm